Spurs under 23’s 0-6 Everton: (match report)

Our under 23’s travelled up to Merseyside on the back of an impressive first win of the season against Manchester City the following week. However, Wayne Burnett’s side couldn’t have put in a more different performance to the one that they put in against the sky blues. Despite picking a similar team for our encounter with the toffees at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon. Burnett’s side just could not deal with Everton’s older and much more physical players. Everton were so much more sharper than us in every thing that we did and by no means had Burnett fielded a young and inexperienced side. The likes of Oliver Skipp, Shayon Harrison and Japhet Tanganga all started against Everton. Sloppy and at times lacking in shape Spurs’ distribution out from the back cost them on several occasions throughout the game. And young Belgian goalkeeper Jonathan De Bie had a very difficult afternoon on his PL2 debut and was at fault for a number of our goals. David Unsworth’s Everton side were significantly older and more experienced than Spurs. 24 year old defender Tyias Browning, experienced fullback Brendan Galloway and 20 year old winger Kieran Dowell who spent last season on loan with Nottingham Forest were just some of the talented players in Unsworth’s side. After passing the ball around well in the opening five or so minutes of the game Spurs fell behind after just ten minutes after the unmarked Tyias Browning headed home from a free kick. Then 11 minutes later we fell further behind after George Marsh scored an own goal after attempting to clear Tanganga’s header on the line after another Everton set piece. Young Scotsman Fraser Hornby essentially put the game to bed when he made it 3-0 to the toffees on the stroke of half time in what had been a half of total dominance from the home side. Things didn’t get much better for Burnett’s side in the second half. Antony Evans made it 4-0 to Everton shortly after the restart, before Bassala Sambou converted from the penalty spot in the 69th minute.

And things got even better for David Unsworth’s side after substitute Josh Bowler scored a late thunderbolt to rubber stamp the toffees 6-0 drumming over our young lads, in a game in which they could they could only manage one shot on target in. Burnett’s side lined up with Jonathan De Bie in goal for his first appearance in the PL2, with a back three of Dinzeyi, Tanganga and Binks in front of him. Four players lined up in the midfield as Jaden Brown and TJ Eyoma operated as the two wingbacks who started either side of the central midfield pairing of Tashan Oakley-Boothe and Oliver Skipp. Whilst the skipper George Marsh sat just behind them in the midfield anchor role. The inform Paris Maghoma played as a number ten behind 21 year old forward Shayon Harrison who led the line. Everton got the PL2 game underway at a chilly Goodison Park as Spurs looked to avenge last seasons 4-1 defeat at the famous old ground. The young Lilywhites moved the ball about quite well in the opening stages and after Jaden Brown won a free kick out on the left flank, Spurs had an early opportunity to trouble Everton goalkeeper Joe Hilton. However, Paris Maghoma’s ball into the danger zone was cleared by Harry Charsley. Tottenham goalkeeper Jonathan De Bie got his first touch of the ball a couple of minutes later after he gathered Kieran Dowell’s pacy free kick into the penalty area. However, Spurs suffered an early blow in the tenth minute of time after the toffees took the lead through Tyias Browning. The goal came about after TJ Eyoma had conceded a free kick out on the left wing. The resulting set piece was taken by Dowell who whipped the ball deep into the box, the hesitant De Bie failed to come off his line as Dowell’s delivery found the unmarked Browning at the back post. The 24 year old defender leapt well before powering a header towards the right side of the goal. De Bie managed to get a considerable amount of glove on the ball but he couldn’t prevent Browning’s bullet header from squirming in, 0-1. Perhaps De Bie should have came out to punch the ball clear.

After having taken the lead so early on in the game Everton seemed to be sparked into life and were now looking a lot sharper with the ball. Conceding early had damaged us and Burnett’s side now found themselves on the back foot. The towering Fraser Hornby glanced Dowell’s cross narrowly wide from inside the penalty area as the blues looked to extend their lead. And they did just that from a corner kick only a couple of moments later. Once again Spurs had come unstuck from a set piece. Kieran Dowell’s delivery into the penalty had caused panic amongst the Spurs defenders. Tanganga rose high to meet the ball but ended up heading it goal bounds. George Marsh tried desperately hard to clear it on the line however, he ended up kicking the ball into the roof of the Spurs goal, 0-2. Once again De Bie had decided not to come off his line and attempt to get to the ball. Spurs tried desperately hard to get back into the game, shortly after the restart Oakley-Boothe won a free kick out on the right flank. Maghoma whipped the ball into the danger zone as Binks tried to attack it, the defender headed the ball across goal but it was cleared by Irishman Harry Charsley. Binks landed awkwardly and had to receive some treatment for a short time after the ball had gone out of play. Burnett’s side looked quite leggy and they were taking far too long on the ball. They lacked the swiftness that they had shown against Man City the previous week. Oliver Skipp conceded a free kick in a dangerous position out on the right wing meaning that Everton could exploit our weaknesses once more. Dowell whipped the ball into the penalty area and was able to find the Hornby who nodded the ball narrowly wide of De Bie’s goal. The Belgian goalkeeper flapped as he gathered the Scotland under 21 internationals cross a couple of moments later as Everton continued to put pressure on our defence.

Japhet Tanganga had to be alert to block Evans diving header after the forward had met Dowell’s cross inside the box. The deflection off of the spurs defender had taken the sting off the ball and it was therefore an easy save for De Bie. A matter of minutes later Unsworth’s side made it 3-0 after centre forward Fraser Hornby found the back of the net. It was all too easy for Everton to pick apart the Spurs defence, Antony Evans had spotted the run of Hornby down the left hand side of the penalty area. Evans threaded a nicely weighted pass through to the Scotsman which had just rolled through the Tottenham defence. Hornby took a touch before firing the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net as De Bie stepped away from his near post, 0-3. Everton almost made it 4-0 just before halftime after Hornby slipped the ball into Galloway inside the penalty area. Galloway dragged the ball across goal and into the feet of Evans at the back post. However, the Englishman slipped at the last moment and was unable to make sufficient contact with the ball. Spurs captain George Marsh made a vital block to prevent Broadhead from playing in Hornby shortly afterwards as Everton looked to add to their three goal lead before the referee blew for the half time. After cutting inside from the left wing Charsley tested De Bie with a powerful low drive towards the bottom right hand corner of the goal. The Belgian spilt the ball and it ended up going out for a corner for Everton. Kieran Dowell’s resulting corner kick was punched away by De Bie as the ball came out to Charsley on the edge of the six yard box. The right backs powerful first time strike was well blocked by Dinzeyi, bringing a much welcomed end to an exceptionally difficult first half for Burnett’s side.

Spurs got the second half underway as they looked to find a way back into the game. A half chance early on in the half resulted in Harrison slipping the ball into Maghoma inside the penalty area. Maghoma tried to trick his way past a sea of Everton defenders but ended up getting crowded out. Everton extended their lead a couple of moments later when Liverpudlian forward Antony Evans found the back of the net after a well worked move from Unsworth’s side. It was all too easy for Everton as Galloway darted past Eyoma down the left side of the penalty area with such ease before finding Evans at the back post. As the forward just tapped the ball home into the empty net despite the best efforts of the outstretched Binks. Eyoma’s lack of pace had been the issue for that goal. The 17 year old centre half picked up a yellow only a matter of minutes later after kicking the ball away after the referee had awarded a free kick against the England youth international. After receiving Maghoma’s pass from around 25 yards out from goal Shayon Harrison managed to have our first and only attempt on target of the game when he tested Hilton with a powerful low effort at goal. Everton caught us on the break at the other end as Evans forced a decent stop out of De Bie at the Tottenham goalkeepers near post. Jack Roles was introduced for TJ Eyoma a couple of minutes later as Burnett looked to bolster the Lilywhites attack. Following Roles introduction Spurs reverted to playing with four at the back as Marsh moved to right back. Unsworth’s side continued to dominate proceedings. Nathan Broadhead fired an effort into the side netting after some good build up play, before Charsley blazed an effort well wide of De Bie’s goal. We were also second to every ball and it was clear to me that we lacked the sharpness and bite that we had shown in previous games. Things got even worse for the young Spurs lads after Skipp gave away a penalty in the 68th minute. Skipp had misplaced a pass on the edge of his own box which went straight to the newly introduced Bassala Sambou. Sambou sprinted into the box where he was chased down by Skipp who made a desperate lunge on the Everton forward, which ended up bringing him to the floor without getting anything on the ball.

Sambou stood up to take the resulting penalty in which he calmly despatched into the bottom left hand corner of the goal as De Bie went the other way, 0-5. Phoenix Patterson came on in place of Dinzeyi a couple of moments later to make his debut at this level. Burnett’s side had crumbled and for the home team it was nothing more than a training match. Mampala caught the Spurs defence napping when he threaded a pass through to the substitute Josh Bowler inside the penalty area late on. Bowler came desperately close to extending the toffees lead as the former QPR teenagers powerful low effort struck the inside of De Bie’s right hand post, before rolling across goal and away to safety. Bowler had another good chance shortly afterwards when he skinned Brown down the right flank before taking the ball into the penalty area and cutting across Skipp before firing the ball narrowly over the crossbar. Paris Maghoma played a clever one – two with Harrison down the right side of the penalty area at the other end before firing a low effort slightly wide of Hilton’s goal, in what was a rare late Tottenham attack. Burnett’s side begun to look a bit livelier as we entered the final stages of the game and they were moving the ball around a lot quicker. The lively Phoenix Patterson almost met George Marsh’s low cross into the penalty area but for a fine piece of defending from Browning who managed to get in front of the Tottenham forward at the right time. Everton then caught us on the break as Mampala drove through the middle of the park before forcing a decent save out of De Bie with an ambitious effort from long range. The icing was put on top of the cake for Unsworth’s side when substitute Josh Bowler netted the toffees sixth goal of the game four minutes from time. After Markelo had passed the ball to Bowler the midfielder looked up before driving a powerful low effort into the top bottom right hand corner of the Spurs goal, 0-6. That brought to an end an extremely difficult game for Wayne Burnett’s side who had been played off the park in every respect. They lacked leadership throughout the game and although they moved the ball around well at times they lacked that final ball. Spurs will be hoping to bounce back from Sunday’s drumming when they face newly promoted Blackburn Rovers in county Lancashire on Friday evening.

Player reviews: – Jonathan De Bie: This was the young Belgians first appearance at this level for Spurs. However, it was a tough one to say the very least. De Bie really struggled to deal with the physicality of the Everton forwards and ended up finding himself at fault for two of their goals after he had failed to come off his line. De Bie’s distribution also put us under pressure and whilst he did make a couple of decent saves I really felt for the young Belgian who was put under great pressure at Goodison Park. However, it’s a learning curve for the 18 year old.
– Jonathan Dinzeyi: Dinzeyi played on the right side of the Tottenham back three and managed to do an ok job for the most part in his defending. Although his passing was often sloppy and inaccurate Dinzeyi did manage to drive out from the back successfully on numerous occasions.
– Japhet Tanganga: The 19 year old operated in the middle of the back three and was the most experienced Tottenham centre half. However, he struggled to deal with the physicality and bite of Fraser Hornby and his passing often put us under pressure.
– Luis Binks: I thought the 17 year old did the best off all our centre backs on Sunday. Don’t get me wrong it was an incredibly tough game for him but he maintained excellent positioning throughout and defended well whilst looking very comfortable on the ball. He also showed a real maturity and leadership about his game.
– TJ Eyoma: Eyoma operated as a right wing back for our encounter with Everton and his lack of pace made it difficult for him to deal with the speed of Galloway and Broadhead. He had a tough game but worked exceptionally hard. He was withdrawn just before the hour mark.
– George Marsh: The skipper played in the holding midfield role and covered large areas of the pitch. Working hard and managing to make some important blocks, his passing however, let him down on numerous occasions.
– Oliver Skipp: The 18 year old central midfielder worked tirelessly in the centre of the park but like the rest of the team it just wasn’t his day. Skipp conceded a penalty in the second half after losing the ball to Sambou.
– Tashan Oakley-Boothe: The 18 year old started in the middle of the park after his impressive performance for our under 19’s in midweek. Oakley-Boothe had an ok game for Burnett’s side and managed to show glimpses of his talent with the ball at his feet. Like Skipp he covered a large amount of ground.
– Jaden Brown: Brown was tasked with defending against the tricky Kieran Dowell out on the right flank and all in all did he a decent job. He also went on some promising attacking forays of his own.
– Paris Maghoma: My motm, see below.
– Shayon Harrison: The centre forward had our only shot on target of the game, and whilst he worked hard and pressed high he was unable to influence the game as he had such little support.
– Jack Roles: The substitute livened things up for Spurs after coming on and we looked a much better side with him on the field.
– Phoenix Patterson: The 18 year old put in an impressive late cameo on his PL2 debut. Patterson looked sharp and helped to create a couple of good moves for Spurs. It was a shame that he didn’t start the game as his movement was very good.

My man of the match: Paris Maghoma. There were no stand out performers within Burnett’s side on Sunday afternoon, I’m not going to exaggerate or say otherwise. However, the one player who I thought showed that creative spark with in the side was Maghoma. Operating as a number ten for large periods of the game where he combined well with Harrison on several occasions. Maghoma worked extremely hard and like Binks he showed leadership, the 17 year old dropped into the centre of midfield for the last 20 or so minutes of the game and it was then that Burnett’s side enjoyed their best period in the game. Maghoma was intricate and went on some nice runs through the middle and even grabbed a late consolation goal for Spurs. He offered Spurs something different from the centre of the park. He should be proud of how he conducted himself.

Everton: Hilton, Charsley, Galloway, Adeniran, Browning (c), Foulds, Dowell, Markelo, Hornby (Sambou 56), Evans (Bowler 56), Broadhead (Mampala 70). Substitutes (not used): Hewelt, Feeney.

Spurs: De Bie, Eyoma (Roles 57), Brown, Tanganga, Dinyezi (Patterson 68), Binks, Maghoma, Marsh (c), Harrison, Skipp, Oakley-Boothe. Substitutes (not used): Freeman, Duncan, Mukendi.

Goals: Everton – Browning 10, Marsh (OG) 20, Hornby 37, Evans 49, Sambou 67 (pen), Bowler 84.

Yellow cards: Everton – Galloway 59; Spurs – Binks 52, Skipp 79, Maghoma 88.

Referee: Leigh Doughty.

Venue: Goodison Park, Liverpool.

Spurs under 21/23’s statistics 2018/19:

Goals scored: Shayon Harrison – 3
Samuel Shashoua – 1
Marcus Edwards – 1
Jaden Brown – 1
Paris Maghoma -1

Assists: Troy Parrott – 1
Jaden Brown – 1
Shayon Harrison – 1
Paris Maghoma – 1
Oliver Skipp – 1

Clean sheets: Brandon Austin – 1